Six categories, but seven items This Year! Whhaaaatttt?
Why yes, friends, it’s time once again for the too early totally unscientific and not necessarily related only to this past year annual list of the year’s best things for 2016. It’s silly but serious, or something like that. As always, let’s hope nothing good happens the rest of December.
BEST MUSIC I DECIDED I NEED MORE IN MY LIFE: Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Every time I stumble across an old song or video of hers, I am simply captivated. For example, watch this, or skip to the guitar solo about half way through:
Is it possible to not feel good watching her? I don’t believe it is possible
BEST VAN PERFORMANCE: Konrad Kuechenmeister
Speaking of feeling good, behold Konrad Kuechenmeister. I was at an outdoor show in a local city park, enjoying some cool bands on the main stage. There was this van parked off to the side maybe 50 yards from the stage. After one main stage set there was an announcement that there would be a performance over by the van. Not really expecting much, we wander over and there was Konrad in the midst of this set up (photo borrowed from Konrad’s Facebook page):
Konrad was a one man show with the talents of a full band. He mixed various acoustic and electronic instruments with vocals (sometimes singing, sometime beatboxing) all fed through some looping equipment to create…magic. His performance was infectious with joy.
BEST NEW (well, to me anyway) BAND: The Early Stages
It’s always great to find a new favorite. I’m a little embarrassed about how obsessed I became with The Early Stages this year. No, that’s not true…I’m not embarrassed at all…they are AWESOME. I’m only embarrassed about the restraining order they took out to keep me out of Austin, Texas. But don’t let that stop you.
BEST LIVE SHOW: Lyle Lovett and His Large Band
A wonderful evening with Lyle and his friends. I’ve never seen him live before this year, and he did not disappoint. Great stories, lots of humor, and that music! Amazing musicians across the board and it was great to see the wonderful Francine Reed is still part of the gang. And, as is Lyle’s wont, he had a local gospel group singing along too. Sublime.
BEST RECOMMENDATIONS FROM CHILDREN: Rizzle Kicks and Moon Hooch
Children, meaning my children. Both the boys came through with good music recommendations this year. Now I’m not suggesting these are necessarily new artists you’ve never heard of, but I can’t keep up with everything! First up, my son Sphere turned me on to Rizzle Kicks, who are just plain fun. Among other things, they sampled The Clash on one of their songs (always a plus in my book) (I’ll let you try to figure out which song) (something else in parenthesis), and created this total ear worm:
Alternative son Rhombus always has his ear to the ground for cool music, which makes no sense as the air is usually a better place. Regardless, just the other night he showed me this video of Moon Hooch:
I was totally blown away. The chaos, the energy, the creativity, and that drummer! Influences no doubt include free jazz and no wave, and maybe even some EDM. And even if this is not your cup of tea, I’m sure we can all agree this is the best use of a traffic cone in music this year. I may just give The Early Stages a break and obsess over Moon Hooch for the coming months.
BEST CRY: In the Aeroskank Over the Checkered Pattern
Maybe the best way to sum this up is to call it idiotic genius. Some nutty boys who dubbed themselves Skanktral Ska Hotel decided the world needed a ska version of the classic Neutral Milk Hotel album “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea”, and who am I to disagree? It’s one of those things you don’t know you need until you find it. Just listen here and be amazed. Why did I cry? Because I was laughing so hard. You may cry in horror. The important thing is: you’ll cry.
So that’s it for 2016. And the way this year has gone for losing great musicians, the sooner the better. My almost new year’s pledge: more music more often in 2017.